Lincoln Mining District (Utah). Recorder Mining records, 1871-1890.

The Lincoln Mining District, organized 16 January 1871, was one of several mining districts organized in Beaver County in the early 1870s. The district included 96 square miles in the area northeast of Minersville, Utah. One of Utah's major mineral belts extends through the Wah-Wah and Tushar Mountains of Beaver and Piute Counties. Mining in this area prospered during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Prospectors organized the Lincoln District to manage mining operations and keep records of claims within the district. In 1872 Congress validated the authority of local mining districts as well as the already established precedent that individuals have the right to claim mineral wealth in the public domain (Statutes at Large, Treaties, and proclamations, of the United States of America, vol. 17, 1872, chap. 152). Lincoln Mining District books primarily contain notices of location for mining claims. Notices identify each claim by a unique name and provide a description whichincludes dimensions and location. They identify the names of claim holders and dates of discovery and filing. Since early claims were limited to 200 feet along a lode, several locators were generally listed on each claim. Each notice is signed by a Lincoln Mining District recorder or deputy. Early claims also include, on the same page, a record of work done. In addition to notices of location, Lincoln books also contain copies of district by-laws and miners' meeting minutes. Minutes establish the ground rules for making mining claims as well as for the distribution of town lots in Lincoln City, a mining camp established in July 1871.